Syria. Francois Hollande: “Other Strikes May Take Place”

Hollande announced that France had destroyed Sunday morning a training camp of the Islamic state near Deir ez-Zor | AFP

Six units of the French airforce bombed and destroyed on Sunday morning a training camp of the Islamic state near Deir ez-Zor, said Francois Hollande.

France has conducted its first air strikes Sunday against the Islamic State, which it intends to destroy the“sanctuaries”. Other strikes are to follow, said the French president.

“France has struck this morning in Syria, hit a training camp of this terrorist group Islamic State threatening the security of our country”, said the French president in a statement on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly UN, New York.

Five Rafale Aircraft

The camp, he continued, was “close” to Deir-ez-Zor. “Our forces have achieved their objectives: the camp was totally destroyed. Six aircraft were used, five Rafale “, he added.

“The targets were identified through reconnaissance flights are but also thanks to the coalition that has also provided us with information”, he said.

Deir-ez-Zor (Dair-az-Zour), which has an airport, is located on the banks of the Euphrates, some 450 kilometers east of Damascus, near the border with Iraq.

“This operation was part of the context of the decision I had made, on September 7, to send reconnaissance flights to identify targets that could correspond precisely what we wanted to mark it as intended: to protect our territory , prevent terrorist actions, act in self-defense“, explained François Hollande.

“Other strikes may take place”

The head of state said that the pilots involved in the operation Sunday morning had acted in a way that the Syrian civilian population does not suffer “consequences”. “Other strikes may take place in the coming weeks if necessary, always with the same objectives identified: (…) training camps or places where we know Islamic State may threaten the security of our country “,continued Francois Hollande.

The French president said he would plead for a political and diplomatic solution in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly.

He reiterated that France doesn’t deviate from its objective, stressing that “the future of Syria must be without Bashar al-Assad”.

While defending its interests through military action, France will use this period to find a political solution “integrates all stakeholders”, he has said.